Perspectives

Historical perspective

John F. Kennedy delivered his Moon Speech in 1962, about a year before his assassination. In his speech, Kennedy promises that the US will land a man on the Moon in the 1960’s: “But it will be done. And it will be done before the end of this decade” (ll. 225-226). The Apollo 11 mission first landed a man on the Moon in July 1969, seven years after Kennedy’s speech. In 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface. Since then, the US has been the only nation that has conducted crewed missions on the Moon. In total, twelve Apollo astronauts have walked on the Moon. 

The final crewed mission to the Moon was in 1972, with Apollo 17, after which all other missions to the Moon were canceled, mostl...